Sooners Case Points That NCAA Going Soft

Not one to normally subscribe to NCAA conspiracy theories, the OU case does make you ask if the judges, in fact, do turn bleeding heart when dealing with its cash cows, er, perennial powers. Compare OU's punishment to the sentence Kentucky football received in 2002: three years' probation, major scholarship reductions, a one-year bowl ban. Not that Oklahoma's infractions matched UK's crimes. Kentucky was cited for improper benefits, academic irregularities, monetary mishandling, etc. OU's case dealt with a single Sooner booster and the university's failure to monitor that booster. Still, the Sooners aren't exactly first-time offenders. This is the sixth time Oklahoma football has been placed on probation. Only SMU and Arizona State have been penalized more often.